Career Change- Many Many Questions

modelmama07 · Mar 27, 2008

Hello Everyone- I have been in financial marketing for ten years and have always wanted a change of career. I am very, very interested in nursing and am in the information gathering/strategizing stage right now. I am also losing my job this week due to a merger and of course the market conditions. So I will have some time to research/visit schools, create spreadsheets of prereqs I need for the various schools, create a time line, etc. Meanwhile- I need some advice that school websites do not fully address. So here it goes:
Prerequisites- Should I start taking the sciences now at a community college (perhaps at CUNY or BMCC)? I am thinking it will take me a couple of years to complete since I avoided science classes during my undergrad.
Volunteering- My undergrad GPA was pretty bad. I requested my transcript from Rutgers but I recall it being like a 2.7 or 2.8. Will it help to volunteer? It would also be great to just be in a hospital environment for hours at a time just to experience it and see what it is like. I plan on calling some hospitals in Manhattan to see what areas they may need help in... any good ones? Or ones to avoid?
Applying to Schools-I am interested in attending an accelerated program in NYC, NJ or vicinity. Do most people apply to some accelerated and some non accelerated ones, just in case? From what I gather, they seem very competitive to get into. Are there ones that have a higher acceptance rate than others?
Recommendations- Since I have been out of school for ten years, these would be professional references/recommendations. Do they need to be a direct supervisor or can it be a peer?
Thanks again for your attention to my questions. I apologize for writing an "essay".

Sorry about your job loss!!! That's terrible. I hope to be of some help.

Since you have been out of school for ten years, you will maybe have to take some mathematics over that are preqs from certain schools such as maybe college algebra. Yet, since you work with math everyday you may be able to prove that you have obtained the information. But you will need to take A&P I&II, Microbiology, Chemistry, and maybe Organic Chemistry if you are going to do BSN. Depending on your financial situation, it is really up to you as to whether you would like to go the most cost-effective route (community college), or through a university.

Since you already have a BSN, you could go through an accelerated program but you would still have to take all the support courses, which you could take them at a CC and tranfer them. As far as your GPA, most schools say the lowest you can have is 2.5. Most schools are very competitive though and I'm not sure how many people actually get in with a 2.5. A high GPA is a plus to have though. It is good to apply more than one, you increase your chances. Many CC's go on just the pre-req GPA, so if you just do well in those classes you can have a higher GPA to compete with, IF you decided to go that route.

Depending on what school you chose volunteer hours and recommendations may be required and some school don't require it so doing either one won't help you out. If you go to the school sites your interested in, most do have their info packets downloaded online so you can see the requirements. Volunteering can be a plus though. It can open your eyes to a hospital enviorment and interacting with people who need your help is so rewarding.

OrlandoFLNurse2b · Mar 27, 2008

Volunteering- My undergrad GPA was pretty bad. I requested my transcript from Rutgers but I recall it being like a 2.7 or 2.8. Will it help to volunteer? It would also be great to just be in a hospital environment for hours at a time just to experience it and see what it is like. I plan on calling some hospitals in Manhattan to see what areas they may need help in... any good ones? Or ones to avoid?

Unfortunately, the majority of schools that I applied weren't interested in volunteer experience and didn't have a place on the application to list it, however. I was required to write several essays that were used as a component of application so you may be able to differentiate yourself there by listing the volunteer experience that you're considering. I think the best shot you have at being accepted is to blow the admissions officers away with a stellar pre-req GPA. I really don't think that I can emphasize stellar enough. Your undergrad GPA isn't going to be good compared to what they see come across their desk nowadays. You need to make them fall out of their chairs with your pre-req GPA. If you come up short on that then I think that puts you in a bad position. Regardless, don't get too down on yourself, leave the bad undergrad GPA in the past and start fresh with the pre-req's.

Shay08 · Mar 27, 2008

Hi there - I am also a career changer, having been in marketing too. I am sorry to hear about your job loss. But it sounds like now you will have some time to gather information about schools and maybe take some pre-req's. Once you narrow down which schools you are interested in, definitely contact/meet with an advisor from each school - some schools will transfer applicable credit from your previous degree, and others won't if it's more than 10 years old...even non-science classes! You'd have to ask, each program is different. Once you find out what pre-req's you need, I would start knocking them out as quickly as possible. You might find it easier (and cheaper) to take them at a community college, and you could aim for a super high pre-req GPA.

As far as applying to accelerated vs. non, I think it really depends on your own personal situation. From what I understand, most accelerated programs are fulltime, full load and intense. I would have loved to do an accelerated program since I already have another degree, but that wasn't going to be possible since I stay home with my kids who are young and I just can't carry more than 2 classes at a time without sacrificing my GPA and time with my little ones. I chose to do a traditional BSN program and I am working through my last few pre-req's part time.

I am not sure about the hospitals in your area, but if you have time to volunteer it can be a great experience and help you get a sense for the environment. It may or may not be required for admission. For me it wasn't, and I did not need to write an essay or get recommendations either.

Good luck to you!